While free agency is set to open in less than 24 hours, many
in the Delaware Valley have their eyes trained to the NFL Draft in April, and
in particular on the Eagles’ first-round pick – number four overall. Why that
selection might just be high enough to take a franchise quarterback, which it
turns out the front office is definitely considering.
At least they want everyone to think they are definitely
considering it.
According to ProFootballTalk, Eagles brass visited Geno
Smith in West Virginia on Monday to conduct a workout with Smith, who it’s
anticipated will be the first passer off the board this April. Those in
attendance include Chip Kelly, Howie Roseman, and most intriguing of all, Jeffrey
Lurie.
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Interviewing Smith does not mean it’s a giveaway the
organization intends to target him with their first pick if available. In fact,
it’s not unusual at all for the team to do its due diligence on the top
quarterbacks in the draft. Last year they caused a stir by meeting with Robert
Griffin III, even though Michael Vick was still entrenched as the club’s
starter at the time, and there was almost zero chance they could have landed
him Griffin anyway.
RG3 went second overall, while even after trading up a few
spots, the Birds only wound up picking 12th.
As many are saying, it’s also possible the front office is
showing interest in Smith hoping that some other team will take notice then trade
ahead of them. The smokescreen could cause an entirely different player the
Eagles like more to fall one extra spot. If that were actually the case, Lurie is quite the salesman by choosing
to attend the workout personally.
The owner’s presence might mean something, or
it might not. Regardless, it doesn’t hurt for the Eagles to do their
homework given their unresolved quarterback situation, despite the fact that the
consensus is number four would be too high for Smith. Then again they could
always move down and target him later.
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There’s a world of possibilities, and the Eagles appear willing
to explore them all.